Through My Lies
by CrypticDeception
Summary: Ever since her her abusive uncle has taken over, Hermione's life has gone full circle into the hell she now endures. Who will finally be able to see through her lies and save her? Rated M for self-mutilation, swearing, and romance. HGDM.
1. Chapter 1

**Through My Lies  
**

**Summary:** Ever since her parents were killed by Voldermort and her abusive uncle has taken over, Hermione's life has gone full circle into the hell she now endures everyday. She tries to fool everyone in fear of what would happen if her friends found out the truth. But how long can it last? Who will see finally be able to see through her lies and save her? Rated M to be on the safe side for selt-mutilation (cutting), swearing, and some romance. HGDM!  
** Disclaimer: **All characters (besides Hermione's uncle, Brandon) and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.  
** Author's Note: **Well, it's been a looong while since I've written a fanfiction, so I still consider this my first. And honestly, I just logged into my account today and I saw this document, and I don't even remember writing it... but it sounds pretty good to me so I'm going to continue.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_'It's your fault, Hermione. It's all your fault. Your parents are dead because of you, they gave you all you ever wanted and this is how you repay them? You let them die. You knew Voldermort would be coming. You did nothing to stop it. You're a worthless bitch.' _Brandon had drilled those words permanently into Hermione's mind.

Hermione sat in the corner of her bedroom, her knees drawn upon her chest and her tear stained face was hidden behind her scarred knees. The words that Brandon said to her everyday was now going through her mind. He was right... it _was_ her fault. She knew Voldemort would come for her parents, but she didn't know how to stop him. Hermione dug her nails into her thigh, trying to calm herself down and repeating to herself that it wasn't her fault. But no matter how hard she tried to deny it, it didn't work. Hermione was crying uncontrollably as she stumbled to her desk to find...something. Not long after, she found it and she held up the silver knife. Giving it a flourish, she slashed mercilessly at her arm, and she watched the blood drip freely down her wrist, serenely. Hermione made another cut above the previous one and watched as the blood from each cut mixed and finally dripped to the floor -splattering the carpet in deep crimson. Hermione concentrated on her cuts and tried to forget everything that was previously going through her mind. After five minutes of peaceful bliss, Hermione heard the drunken voice of her uncle.

"Hermione, you worthless bitch, come down here!" he bellowed up the stairs.

Sighing and bracing herself for what was going to come next, she slowly made her way down the stairs. Right when she got down, Brandon brutally grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. He was close enough so that Hermione could smell the stink of hard liquor emitting from his mouth as he panted loudly. She whimpered silently and he threw her on to the floor. Hermione barely had time to breathe and catch herself before his foot made contact with her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She choked and tried to gasp for breath. Soon, she was being mercilessly punched and kicked. "You...deserve...this...useless...whore..." Brandon mumbled as he abused her violently. Hermione closed her eyes... 1...2...3...4...5...6... she had gotten to 17 before she blacked out and fainted.

* * *

The harsh sunlight poured into the dark hallway downstairs. Hermione squinted her eyes and found herself lying on the bloody carpet by the stairs. She tried to turn around but every move she made caused her to wince in pain. Finally mustering up enough strength to get up, Hermione went to the bathroom to see the damage caused by her uncle yesterday. She gripped the sink as she braced herself and finally looked in the mirror. She was staring at her ugly, dirty self. Her eyes darted to all the bruises and cuts she had -some of which she caused herself. There was a line of self-inflicted cuts that ran down the right side of her arm and reminded her of a marching bad. She laughed to herself. A hollow, empty, laugh.

Sighing heavily as she turned away from her reflection, she started putting magical ointment on her some of her bruises. She left some bruises and cuts to remind her of the hate she felt for her uncle. Hermione then decided to get ready for the day; while rummaging through her drawers, she spotted the glint of her knife. Abandoning what she had been doing, she grabbed the knife and began to make more cuts on her left arm. Relief swam over her as she gazed at the scarlet liquid that trickled down her arm- the only way she knew she was still alive. After about half an hour, she breathed in content and resumed getting ready -finally deciding on a black zip-up sweater with a white tank top under and blue jeans.

"Morning, _Hermione_," Brandon greeted her in a falsely sweet voice.

He then threw some letters at her and she immediately recognized them as letters from Hogwarts. 'Welcome back to Hogwarts... blah, blah, blah, the usual... congratulations, you have been chosen as Head Girl," Hermione skimmed through the letter, expecting nothing new. She was about to put it down when it hit her, she re-read the letter and then almost screamed in delight, _'Head Girl_,' she breathed.

"What are you so happy about, you little fucker."

"Nothing...just excited for school..." Hermione quickly lied.

Apparently, this was the wrong thing to say. In less than a second, he was behind her, her arm twisted behind her back. Hermione shut her eyes in pain as he ravaged the same arm that he had last night. Brandon whispered into her ear, threateningly, "Excited to go back to school? You cunt, you just can't wait to get away from me, can you?" Hermione winced as he tightened his grip on her wrist, "You should be grateful I'm even letting you go. But just to get a few things straight -you _will_ be coming back here for winter and spring break and you _will not_ tell anyone **anything** about _this_. Got it?"

Hermione quickly nodded, she felt as if her arm was going to break under his deathly grip. Seeming satisfied, he released her. Trying to not give him the satisfaction that he had hurt her, she ignored the throbbing pain in her wrist and continued to make breakfast. At least she would try to make the most of her time away from him worthwhile. _Head Girl_... she smiled, and this time, it was a genuine and warm smile.

* * *

The days crept slowly by and everyday was just as unbearable as the last. Hermione was counting down the days... the days until she would be free from her uncle's wrath -if only for a few months. Hogwarts was her home; it was more of a home than her actual one would ever be. Everyday, some of her bruises would heal, but only to be replaced by new ones the next day. Hermione was longing for the warmth and comfort of Hogwarts. The thought of the soft beds, warm blankets, and the absence of Brandon, was what drove Hermione forward through the torturous nights.

A week before the term started, Hermione got her things together and rented a room in the Leaky Cauldron. She went to Diagon Alley to get the remaing things she needed. It was a surprise the Brandon had even let her leave a week before, but after she promised to stay with him all of Christmas and Easter break, he grudgingly let her go, but not without a final beating. Hermione turned uncomfortably on her small bed in the Leaky Cauldron. She drifted off into nightmares of the night when her parents were murdered by Voldemort. How they told her to hide, how they sacrificed themselves for her, how it was all her fault they were dead...

* * *

"Hey, Hermione! Over here!" Harry called her over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione greeted them in a falsely cheery voice, "How have you been! I haven't heard from you all summer... except once!" _'Psh, they probably forgot about me...'_ she thought to herself.

"Webingud," Ron mumbled, his mouth full of ice cream.

Looking utterly disgusted, she turned to Harry, who said, "We've been good. And what are you talking about, we wrote you loads of times asking you to come stay at the Burrow. We figured since you didn't reply that your uncle and you went somewhere..."

Hermione stared blankly at him... _'I can't believe he hid my letters!'_ but noticing the wondering look on Harry face, she glibly lied, "Oh yeah, we went to Italy for a little bit and came back a week ago... those owls probably..." she trailed off, wondering what 'the owls' could've done...

"How was it?" Ron asked, having finished his sundae.

"Oh, it was... marvelous. We saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Ponte Vecchio,and Florence had the most wonderful and interesting museums," Hermione tried to remember what she read about Italy, "What have _you_ been doing?" She asked, trying to get the attention off her.

"Nothing... much..."

"Just Quiddi-"

"HERMIONEEE!" they were interrupted by a shrill scream. Soon, the source of the noise became apparent as Ginny came bounding up to Hermione.

"Ginny!" Hermione winced as Ginny pulled her into a tight hug -her bruises had yet to heal.

"Where have you been all summer? It's been sooo boring in a house full of boys... all they talk about is _Quidditch, Quidditch, and MORE Quidditch!_"

"I went to Fra- I mean, Italy. Marvelous time... really..."

"Oh, okay. I'm just so glad to see you!"

Hermione smiled sincerely. Looking around awkwardly, she shook back her sleeves to check the time...

"Hermione! Where'd you get the bruise from!" Ron gasped.

Right above her watch was a purple, black, and blue bruise about the size of a normal fist.

"Nothing." Hermione quickly pulled her sleeve over it.

"Hermione, that was not nothing," Harry said, his voice full of concern.

"It's nothing... really, I just banged it against a table... oh, I just remembered, I need some more ink.." Hermione began walking towards the Quill and Ink shop.

Still not fully convinced, Harry just decided to shake it off. I mean, it probably wasn't that important. He shoved his guilty thoughts to the back of his mind and pretended to be engrossed by a rainbow ink quill as he followed her into the shop.

* * *

"You didn't tell us you were Head Girl!" Ron yelled over the commotion in the hallways of the Leaky Cauldron as everyone ran around trying to get things together before leaving for King's Cross.

"I guess it slipped my mind... I mean, a lot of things have been happening over the summer..."

"I wonder who Head Boy is, " Harry added.

"Hopefully a Hufflepuff or something..."

"Just as long as it isn't -"

"_Slytherin_," they all shuddered at the thought.

"Hurry up kids!" Molly Weasley shouted up the stairs, she checked her watch - it was 10:20.

* * *

Harry, Hermione, and Ron, made it through the bustling of the platform and quickly boarded the Hogwarts Express. After they found an empty compartement, Hermione got up, "I'm going to go up to the Heads compartment and see who the Head Boy is. Then, McGonagall wants to go through some general things before we arrive at the school. I'll be back," she kissed each of their cheeks, and quickly slammed the door and made her way down the aisle.

Finally making it to the front of the train, she pushed open the door and to her disappointment saw that the new Head Boy was none other than... Draco _Malfoy_. She glared at him as she sat across from him.

"Fancy seeing you here, Granger," Draco smirked.

Hermione continued to gaze out the window, trying to ignore him. That, she decided, was how she was going to try to get through the year with _him_.

"Granger, have you gone _daft_. Well, I actually wouldn't be surprised seeing the **scum** you hang out with... and the scum that you are already..."

She flinched, but tried her best to not lose her temper, even though she would've loved to just curse him out of oblivion at that point. Hermione bit her tongue, drawing blood -she swilled it around her mouth. Tasting the blood. Malfoy was still talking indistinctly, and she just about to punch him, when Professor McGonagall walked in.

"Good morning. First, I'd just like to congratulate you two for being chosen as Head Boy and Head Girl this year. It's pretty simple what you do: patrol the hallways with the teachers, plan the balls, and basically just keep the school safe, and make sure that no one steps out of line," she said in a perfunctory manner, "any abuse of power will result in your probation, and repeating offenses will strip you of your head titles."

After she left, Hermione and Draco were left back in their silence. Hermione staring out the window and Draco trying to keep occupied with loud things that would annoy Granger. He looked at her, her long hair fell in curls below her shoulder, the sun catching the highlights in her hair. She had definitely grown up over the summer... yet there was something wrong with her... an eerie emptiness in those honey eyes that gazed at the passing countryside.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco staring scrutinizingly at her. She turned to face him, staring straight into his eyes. He smirked at her. "What do you want, Malfoy?" she spoke for the first time since they saw each other.

Draco continued to stare carelessly at her.

"What do you want? Or are you just going to continue staring at me..."

"I'd rather not waste my breath on a mudblood like you... oh god, you're burning my eyes..."

Forgetting all pretense and all the comebacks she thought of, she raised her hand and attempted to slap the living daylights out of him.

With his quick reflexes, he grabbed her wrist, an inch away from his face. And at this, her sleeve fell down, exposing numerous bruises and scars. Draco's eyes went wide.

"Granger..."

* * *

**End Notes: **Soo, how is it? It's been a while and it's a little cliche, but at least Draco's not abused... like in some of the other stories. Here, he is a perfectly happy kid who embraces his father's ideals... well, for now at least. Eh, it's probably going to take me a while for the next chaper, since I'm just making things up as I go. But tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Through My Lies  
**

**Summary:** Ever since her parents were killed by Voldermort and her abusive uncle has taken over, Hermione's life has gone full circle into the hell she now endures everyday. She tries to fool everyone in fear of what would happen if her friends found out the truth. But how long can it last? Who will see finally be able to see through her lies and save her? Rated M to be on the safe side for selt-mutilation (cutting), swearing, and some romance. HGDM!  
** Disclaimer: **All characters (besides Hermione's uncle, Brandon) and settings belong to J.K. Rowling. **  
**

* * *

**_Previously...  
_**

_Forgetting all pretense and all the comebacks she thought of, she raised her hand and attempted to slap the living daylights out of him._

_With his quick reflexes, he grabbed her wrist, an inch away from his face. At this, her sleeve fell down, exposing numerous bruises and scars. His eyes went wide._

_"Granger..."**  
**_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Hermione gasped. She wrenched her arm from his grasp and looked away hurriedly.

"Granger, what happened to you?" Draco was still in shock. Trying to recover from it, he quickly said, "Got beat up by some 10 year old who didn't want to join that little club of yours... _SPEW?_" He smirked, obviously not knowing the extent of Hermione's problems.

"Not like _you'd_ care," Hermione said, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to brim to the surface. The fear and threat of Malfoy, out of all people, finding out the truth, and the memories of what caused the bruises... everything came rushing to her. She began to panic, _'where is my knife... damn, it's in my trunk!'_ Hermione thought to herself as she was trying to seek a means of relief.

"You're right, I **don't** care, so don't get me involved in your petty issues. I have better things to do with my time than to help a mudblood like you." Draco snapped back, although he didn't truly mean it.

"Fine, I don't want you involved anyway!" Hermione stormed out of the compartment.

_'The nerve of him..._' Hermione thought to herself as she walked past the compartments. She locked herself in the bathroom and looked at herself critically in the mirror and gripped the sink so hard that her knuckles turned white. The Gryffindor splashed her face with cold water and tried to shake the bad memories from her mind. Not succeeding, she silently cursed herself for leaving her knife in her trunk, which was in the compartment with Ron and Harry. Looking around, she spotted a safety pin on top of the sink -it would suffice. She rinsed if off and brought it to the middle of her left arm. Picking a fairly empty spot, she dragged the pin across her flesh. A rush of relief came to greet her. The red color of the blood contrasted beautifully against her skin, as it dripped down across her arm. Hermione made another cut below the previous one, watching as the blood interlaced and pooled in droplets around her. Sighing, she quickly cleaned up and performed a simple spell that would stop the fresh cuts from bleeding. She smoothed out her clothes and hair placidly and proceeded to go find Ron and Harry and to change into her robes._**  
**_

* * *

"I would like to welcome the new students of Hogwarts, and to welcome _back_ the old students." Albus Dumbledore greeted the sea of students, graciously, "Before I make my start-of-the-term speech, I know you have all traveled for a very long time, so... tuck in!"

"Ah, my favorite part of the school year! Start-of-the-term feast," Ron said excitedly as her reached across the table for a drumstick.

"You like anything that involves food, Ron," Hermione replied as she picked at her own food with a fork. She wasn't in the mood for eating, everything was just clouding in her mind and food had no part in it. Sighing heavily, she got up and quickly said, "I'm going to the library..."

"Hermione! The term hasn't even started and you're going to the _library_!? Besides, you haven't even eaten anything yet," Harry said hastily and he piled food on to her plate. He was trying to take care of her while still trying to hear what Dumbledore was saying in his speech. When Dumbledore finished, Harry turned his attention back to Hermione.

"I just want to catch up on some things, and I'm not hungry. I'll go down to the kitchens later..." Hermione turned and left.

"Miss Granger! Just the person I wanted to see," Dumbledore exclaimed behind Hermione. She abruptly turned around and stopped. "Yes, I would like to show you and Mister Malfoy your living quarters," he calmly turned the corner, expecting Hermione and Draco to follow. Looking at each other briefly, they turned and caught up to Dumbledore.

"Ahhh," they stopped in front of portrait with a regal looking witch, sitting in a tall armchair.

"Password?"

"_Unity_."

The portrait swung open and the three stepped in. "Wow." Hermione looked around at the room before her in awe. A fire was crackling merrily on the right side of the room. There were comfy looking couches set in front of tables, presumably for homework. The room was colored in very rich gold and silver accents, and it merged the two house colors superbly.

"Mister Malfoy, your room is on the left, and Miss Granger, yours is on the right." And with that, he turned and left them in the room.

Without saying word, Draco walked towards his room and shut the door, leaving Hermione standing there in the middle of the room, still staring. Finally snapping out of her daze, she went to check out her room. _'I'm just going to shower and go to bed...'_ Hermione thought to herself. She proceeded absentmindedly into the bathroom... "AHHHH!" she quickly closed the door and screamed, "Sorry," into the crack before fully closing the door.

10 minutes later, Draco exited the bathroom into Hermione's room. "Okay, since we _both_ don't want that to happen again, let's get a few things straight...when _I'm_ in the bathroom, you don't use it..."

"Righttt, because I just want to be in the same bathroom as you..."

"_I_ get to use the bathroom first _when_ I want..."

"Fuck off, Malfoy..."

"And _I'm_ using the space above the sink, so take your shit off." He turned to leave.

"Oh no you don't, that's fucked up, _I_ go first because I'm the _girl_."

"Exactly, girls take forever in the bathroom, so it's only fair that I go first so I don't have to wait for you."

"Yes, we take a while so we need more time to get ready for class."

"So what am I supposed to do, wait for you?"

"Okay, it's obviously we're not going to agree, so how about first come, first served?"

"Fine."

"Fine! Now get out of my room."_**  
**_

* * *

"Hurry up, Malfoy!" Hermione banged on the bathroom door the next morning. Twenty minutes later, Draco walked out of the bathroom, shaking his head free of water. "Ugh, took you long enough!" She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. He chuckled and resumed getting ready for the first day of classes.

'The _nerve_ of him," Hermione sighed angrily as she squeezed a little too much toothpaste, out of frustration. "Ugh, I don't know how I'm going to make it through the year with him. Why couldn't they choose someone from Hufflepuff or something. Sometimes, I'd rather just be hom-" She had just reminded herself of **him**. _'Why does this always happen to me,'_ she thought to herself._**  
**_

* * *

At breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were looking over their schedules, nodding approvingly at some classes and then letting out a sigh of frustration at others. "Double Potions with_ Slytherin_ today..." Ron muttered as he poked violently at his bacon.

"But look, we've got a free period after that, and another one after lunch..." Harry pointed out, "After Potions, _you_ have Arithmancy... but you have a period after lunch, too!" He grinned towards Hermione, which she only returned half-heartedly.

Half an hour later, the trio was bounding toward the greenhouse for Herbology, first period. Ron and Harry were animatedly talking about Quidditch, while Hermione looked around her... she would miss this place, it basically was her home. She didn't want to leave... to go back to him... but after she graduated, she could move out, live in the wizarding world... if he let her.

Dirty, grumbling, and tired, the Gryffindors trudged up the hill after Herbology to History of Magic, and then to Double Potions.

* * *

"This is the _last_ year that you will be in this class, practicing the fine art of potion making. The coursework will be hard and the workload will be even harder. The first potion we're brewing is... Veritaserum. A very finicky, complicated, potion that will take about two weeks to brew. You mess up once, and the effects could be _disastrous_," Snape greeted them all as they took their seats and began to take notes, "Once you are done with your potion, you will test them out on another student, which _I_ will choose when the time comes...start, now," he flicked his wand towards the student cabinet and flipped the board, so the directions were showing.

The potion did prove to be extremely difficult, it had to have _exact _potion measurings and had to be stirred an exact amount of times starting a certain position. Hermione was muttering and repeating the directions to herself. Next to her, Harry was progressing along at a slower pace, but his potion seemed adequate. Ron was cursing under his breath and his robes caught fire when he leaned too close to his cauldron, but his potion seemed alright, still.

After moving their cauldrons to a seperate part of the classroom, the students exited- Ron and Harry went to the common room as Hermine dashed off to Arithmancy. Upon arriving to class, she realized she was the last one in and the only empty seat was the one next to a certain Slytherin. Grumbling, she tried to sit as far away from him as humanly possible.

During class, her mind drifted off to winter break... she was thinking about Christmas, when she remembered _where_ she was going to be during Christmas. Hermione shuddered and tried to concentrate on her work, but the fear was eating away at her. She was terrified of Brandon and what he would do to her. She began to tear, but tried her best to hold them back, as she scribbled out some equations.

After an hour of waiting and sitting through what seemed like the longest class ever, Hermione was finally rewarded with the lunch bell. She rushed off to the common room, when she heard another set of footsteps behind her. "And where are you going, Granger..." a menacing voice sounded behind her.

She turned around and came face to face with Draco Malfoy, "That's none of your business, Malfoy."

"What's wrong with you."

"Nothing," Hermione replied curtly as she tried to hurry way.

"Oh please, you had fear written all over your face during Arithmancy..." Draco was keeping pace with her.

Hermione glared at him as he moved closer to her, his voice threatening. She was turning to find solace in the Gryffindor common rooms, when he grabbed her arm and whispered dangerously in her ear, "I know somethings wrong and trust me, I'll find out what it is..." he let her go as she stumbled quickly through the portrait of the fat lady, trying to get as far away from everybody... especially him.

* * *

**End Notes:** Well, there's the second chapter xD It's a little shorter than the first, but I wanted to update quickly. All chapters will be around 2000 words, give or take a few hundred. Anyway, I didn't want it to go too fast... like I didn't want Draco finding out anything in the second chapter... maybe he'll find out in the third... and then they'll get together in the 5th or 6th or something, I'm not sure... heh. Anyway, hope you liked that, please review and give your thoughts...going too slow? Perfect pace? I doubt anyone thinks it's moving too fast. ;


	3. Chapter 3

**Through My Lies  
**

**Summary:** Ever since her parents were killed by Voldermort and her abusive uncle has taken over, Hermione's life has gone full circle into the hell she now endures everyday. She tries to fool everyone in fear of what would happen if her friends found out the truth. But how long can it last? Who will see finally be able to see through her lies and save her? Rated M to be on the safe side for selt-mutilation (cutting), swearing, and some romance. HGDM!  
** Disclaimer: **All characters (besides Hermione's uncle, Brandon) and settings belong to J.K. Rowling. **  
**

* * *

**_Previously...  
_**_  
Hermione glared at him as he moved closer to her, his voice threatening. She was turning to find solace in the Gryffindor common rooms, when he grabbed her arm and whispered dangerously in her ear, "I know somethings wrong and trust me, I'll find out what it is..." he let her go as she stumbled quickly through the portrait of the fat lady, trying to get as far away from everybody... especially him._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"Hermione! What's wrong?" Harry and Ron both sat up from their game of Wizard's Chess, as Hermione came stumbling into the room. She seemed deeply troubled and harassed. "What happened!?" They continued.

Hermione dropped into a soft red armchair and remained silent. She whispered, "Malfoy..."

"What did that git do to you this time? I'll kill him!" Ron paced around the room wildly.

"No, he was just trying to get... homework from me. He grabbed my arm- "

"Was _he_ the one who gave you that bruise on your arm, when we saw you at Florean Fortescue's?" Harry demanded.

"What? No, Harry. I told you already, I got that from falling on the ground."

"You said you banged it against a table..."

"Yeah, that's what I meant. It was just so long ago that I don't even remember all the clumsy things I do," Hermione tried to laugh her way out of it. "Anyway, I've got to get ready for my next class. See you guys later!" She hurried out of the room and ran blindly through the halls, gasping the password as she stumbled into the Head's Common Room. _'That was too close,'_ she thought.

Hermione went to her room and muttered a variety of lock spells that she was quite sure even Draco couldn't get through. Fumbling through her trunk, she found her prized blade. All the thoughts of her uncle, and all the fears that she had of Draco, and now Ron and Harry, finding out about her secret, was dying to just pour out of her as she dug the point of the blade into her thigh, dragging it slowly across. She pushed it deeper and deeper and relished the intense and real pain it gave her, and the blood that oozed out slowly.

With all her energy drained out of her, she collapsed into her bed and drifted off into a whirl of nightmares, dreams, and a desperate attempt to run away from reality._  
_

* * *

"Fucking Granger..." Draco was muttering to himself as he briskly walked to the common room and threw his books carelessly on a couch. He didn't want to get involved with someone like Hermione Granger, but something about those injuries troubled him and he just_ had_ to find out the secret behind them.

He stopped in front of Hermione's room, "Granger..."

Silence.

"Grangerrr. We have night patrol soon!" Exasperated, he was just about to leave and try to find her in the library, when he saw a small pool of blood running through the door crack. His eyes widened and he tried to unlock the door in every way he could, but the knob wouldn't budge. Bracing himself and hoping Hermione wasn't leaning on the door, he ran towards the door and it slammed open. Hermione was lying unconcious only a few inches ahead of the door. Her hand was enclosed around a long sharp blade, and her legs were askew, blood falling unceasingly from her thighs and pooling on the carpet all the way to the door.

"Bloody hell! Fuck Granger, what were you thinking!?" Draco stooped down and checked for a pulse. She had a faint one, but it was dying quickly. Scooping her up bridal style, he sprinted down the hallways and burst into the hospital wing, gasping for breath, "She...accident...weak... pulse," he weezed at the stunned Madam Pomfrey as he dropped her gently on a bed.

Snapping out of shock, Madam Pomfrey immediately asked, "What happened?"

"I-I don't know... I just walked in and then I her on the floor and she was bl- blee- bleeding and I d-don't know what happened..." Draco stuttered, "Help her! Her pulse is dying!"

Madam Pomfrey observed the blood-stained boy wearily and proceeded to work on Hermione. "If you would please, Mr. Malfoy, wait out here, or go back to your dorms. There will be no need for you to stay here as she won't be up until tomorrow. A growing boy like yourself needs sleep."

Draco vehemently refused her orders, but seeing that his refusals were utterly hopeless, he reluctantly turned away and walked back to his dormitories.

* * *

"What do you think happened to her?"

"I don't know... she never told us if anything was wrong. I mean we're her best friends."

"It's weird, but she probably had a reason to not tell us..."

"And she tells _Malfoy_?"

"I think he just found out..."

Harry and Ron were whispering to each other as they sat at the side of Hermione's bed. She turned around and weakly opened her eyes..."Harry... Ron," weakly smiling, she tried to get up, but failed.

"Stay down, Hermione... you need to rest." Harry quickly said. His eyes kept shifting towards Ron.

_'Ask her_' Ron mouthed to Harry.

"Err... Hermione..."

"Please, Harry, Ron, I don't want to talk about it right now? Okay? Later..." Hermione said desperately.

To her relief, they grudgingly let it go and instead, tried talking about other things and about what she missed during class and how there was a rumor going around school that Pansy Parkinson had hooked up with Seamus Finnigan, which got Hermione in a much better mood by the time they had to leave for Quidditch practice._  
_

* * *

Hermione was discharged from the hospital wing a few days later, and spent most of the week trying to catch up on her homework. People might have thought she was mental or something, but she enjoyed doing homework -it kept her mind off all the other problems in her life.

One night, she was sitting in the common room finishing an essay on powdered boomslang skin and its many uses, when Draco walked in.

"So... are you going to tell me what happened that night?" he asked bluntly.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, knowing that this would've come up at one point or another.

"You'll need to eventually..." he trailed off awkwardly, since he personally didn't know what to say. Ever since that day he had found her almost dead on her bedroom floor, things had been especially awkward and different between them.

"It was nothing. Okay? Just drop it."

"Bloody hell, Granger! You were half dead. That's not "nothing" goddamnit." Draco was getting aggravated.

"Just go away. It was nothing and don't worry about it! I know you don't care."

"Worry!? Worry?! Fuck. What, so I'm just supposed to wait around for another few weeks and find you unconcious on your floor again and then have to save your sorry ass another time! Maybe that one day I won't be there!"

"Hopefully. Then everything will be for the better," Hermione whispered under her breath, barely audible.

Draco managed to hear half of what she said, "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Hermione snapped.

"Why won't you talk to me?" He pleaded.

"Because..."

"Because why!?"

"Ugh. Just stop it! Stop! Just go away..." Hermione was using every ounce of willpower and strength she had to not break down in front of him.

"Hermione..." Draco took a step toward Hermione, but before he could do anything, she got up and ran into her room, slamming the door.

He sighed and plummeted on to the couch, rubbing his eyes. _'What was wrong with Granger?'_ He was about to doze off when his eyes shot open and he remembered that the night he had found Hermione -she was in her room, alone, and angry about him. Draco ran to the door and pounded, "Granger! Granger!"

Almost slamming into the door, he stopped himself short when he heard her voice yelling back at him, "What do you want?! I'm tired and I'm going to sleep, leave me alone!"

"Only when you promise you won't scare me again like you did that other day."

"No! I will do no such thing - just drop it. I wish that never happened. That you never found me." _'If only you knew how much I wished I were dead right now...'_ Hermione thought to herself as she yelled at Draco.

"Promise me, Granger... before I slam through the door again!"

"Fine! I promise I won't do anything like that! Will you please get away from my door now." Hermione yelled... and under her breath, she added malignantly, "I won't do anything...tonight."

Seemingly satisfied, Draco exhaled and wandered around the common room. He forced himself to stay up in case Hermione broke his promise, as he knew she would most likely do._  
_

* * *

The first few months of schools breezed by, and Draco, Harry, and Ron were still incessantly bothering Hermione, trying to figure out what happened to her. Each of them also popped in randomly, having some random excuse to see her, but Hermione knew that they were just trying to keep an eye on her. Hermione was glad that they were there to keep her afloat, but sometimes, she just wished everything would just... end.

Soon, autumn gave to winter, and winter meant the holidays. Although the holidays were a time of joy and happiness for her classmates, they meant nothing good was coming for Hermione. Instead of going home to a warm crackling fireplace and late nights with hot chocolate, she was going 'home' to weeks of darkness and agony. But however much the upcoming holidays were worrying her, she pretended that everything was okay, and that 'that day' was just a one-time, freakout. And so she 'faked it' all through December, on all the Hogsmeade trips, and especially around Draco. She was sure she had the boys fooled again, although it was harder to trick Draco, than Harry and Ron. As the days carried on though, her perfect facade began to slowly crumble down.

It was the week before holidays, and everyone was busy packing and finshing up last-minute holiday homework. Everyone was in a cheerful mood -it sickened Hermione. Two days before going back to Brandon, Hermione was lying on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She was trying to make herself get up and go to a party with the Gryffindors before everyone departed, but she just had no interest in anything at that point, except perhaps her knife. But at this moment, her hand was clenched around a crumpled letter,

_Hermione,  
I am looking forward to seeing you this holiday. I have missed you so much and I've been planning all the fun activities we will do before you go back to school. I'll be looking for you at King's Cross and if I don't find you there, you don't know how heartbroken I will be._

_Love, Brandon_

To any outsider, this letter would've seemed quite sincere. However, Hermione knew what he really meant. His "fun" was torturing her everyday and hearing her scream. His fun, was her hell._  
_

* * *

Draco shuffled across the common room to finish packing for the holidays. But when he walked into that room, something about it bothered him.

Silence.

He knew Hermione was in her room -he had seen her leave the Great Hall a few minutes ago and go into their common room. As quietly as he could, he tried to turn her doorknob. To his surprise, it opened easily and silently. But at the moment, he wished he hadn't intruded and he felt sick to his stomach.

Hermione was sitting on her bed, dragging her blade, listlessly, across her arm. He must've counted about 17 fresh new scars, blood running down her arm. It seemed like she didn't notice him at all -drowned in her thoughts.

Bracing himself, he reached across her bloodied hand and firmly said, "Stop. Please."

She looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears, "Help me," she whispered, and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. Not caring that she had just asked her worst enemy to help her, not caring that he had caught her cutting, not caring that she was staining his robes with her blood, just... that she finally felt safe.

* * *

**End Notes:** Gee, that chapter took a billion years to write. Sorry everyone! School started and I just kind of got consumed in homework and forgot about this. Soo... this chapter has a lot of dialogue, and it's a little shorter, but I hope you like it, because there's finally something between Hermione and Draco... sort of... xD Well, please review and I'll try to write the next chapter soon!


End file.
